District attorney and San Rafael mayor express support for tougher gun control laws

Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian and San Rafael Mayor Gary Phillips reaffirmed their support for tougher gun control laws Wednesday in comments to the Marin Coalition in San Rafael.

"I do believe there are reasonable, common-sense regulations that should be put in place and not just end up as some political dialogue out there," said Berberian, who oversaw a buyback of firearms from Marin residents after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December.

Expressing his support for tougher national laws regulating high-capacity ammunition clips, Phillips pointed out that state law limits duck hunters to using shotguns capable of holding no more than three shells in their magazine.

"It strikes me that a second-grader should have the same degree of protection," said Phillips, referring to the age of some of the Sandy Hook victims.

In January, Phillips was the first mayor in Marin to sign a resolution in support of tougher gun control that was being circulated throughout the country by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a national coalition of mayors. Berberian and Phillips were the featured speakers at the luncheon meeting of the Marin Coalition, which convened at the Whistlestop's Jackson Cafe; more than 30 people attended.

Audience member Mary O'Mara, executive director of Marin Link, thanked Berberian for his effort in helping to organize the gun buyback.

"I think it is a good first step," O'Mara said.

Berberian said the program, which cost about $108,000, resulted in the purchase of 857 firearms, including assault-type weapons such as the AK-47 and AR-15, and several thousand rounds of ammunition.

"I don't believe there is a necessity for us as private citizens to have the equivalent of the AK-47 in our homes," Berberian said.

Michelle Belfor Kralovec of Petaluma said, "With ex-cons being let go on a daily basis, how in the world are we going to protect ourselves without having something in our homes to protect us. I personally have a couple of guns."

Both Berberian and Phillips said they have no intention of challenging people's Second Amendment rights to possess a firearm.

"I myself own a few shotguns," Phillips said. "I think that's a decision that rests with the individual."

Chris Cosgrove of San Rafael raised a different issue. Cosgrove said he thought it was unnecessary to pay "over-privileged Marinites" for turning in what in many cases were old hunting rifles.

"We're using money that is coming out of the budget to help the poor," Cosgrove said.

Berberian said only about $40,000 of taxpayer money was used to finance the buyback; nearly all of it came from the county of Marin, although the cities of San Rafael and Novato each chipped in $1,000. The rest of the money came from the Marin Community Foundation and private donors, Berberian said.

Berberian acknowledged that many of the weapons purchased were not of the assault variety used at Sandy Hook and other high-profile mass shootings in the United States. He said it is nevertheless desirable to get weapons out of households where they may be used in fatal domestic disputes or by suicides.

"We know that the rate of individuals who die as a result of gun violence by suicide is twice as high as by homicide," Berberian said. "So if you can take a gun out of a house, you might save a life."